Wasn’t the greatest of sleep in the cabin last night, whether it was the hard mattress or the clammy heat even though we have air conditioning I don’t know.
Around 8 Joseph fired boat 20 up and we sedately moved through the back waters heading for where we started off. Shortly after anchor up breakfast was served- fruit, toast and coffee with eggs offered but declined and rice noodles and chana masala left untouched.
Just after 9 we moored and waited around 20 minutes before a lighter vessel came and picked us and luggage up as well 3 other couples from other houseboats dropping us back to dry land where our driver was waiting so ending our trip on the backwaters of Alleppey.
It was a time to relax away from the hustle and bustle that India throws at you and allowed one to see how life is lived in this watery environment – it was better than I had expected and well worth doing.
For the next 2 or so hours we raced to Kochi along highways, through villages and back roads only having one very near miss when just as we went to pass a stationary truck on a narrow road the truck driver opened the door to get out causing our driver to swerve violently, Sherry to be woken from her slumber with an expletive!
Booked in at the Secret Gardens in Kochi another heritage hotel luckily including a pool as the temperature here is low 30s with reasonably high humidity.
After unloading we walked into a nearby shopping area for lunch and a walk around the shops which are of a better class than seen elsewhere being more of a western style.
First impressions of Kochi are a seaside city tidier than those in the north with more of a feel we are used to. I’m told, after we spent some time looking in the shops, that they have some high quality shops that need closer inspection.
Flagging now we came back to the hotel and into the pool. The expectation was that it would be a cold water swim but the water had been under the heat of the sun for 6 or so hours so that it was like a warm bath!
In the evening we walked to the beach where there were great numbers of people standing around to see the sunset, then onto the restaurant where we had lunch for dinner.
Tomorrow we have a cooking class for South Indian cuisine so after dinner we found, not easily it must be said, where we have to go to before heading back to the hotel to end another day.
Like all of India (that we have seen) there are tuk tuks galore and if your walking one after the other will pull alongside to encourage you to get in. Here in Kochi the common banter from the driver as he pulls alongside is something like “do you want a lift in my Ferrari”
Some house boat activity on backwaters here
Houseboats at mooring in Alleppey
Joseph, Kumar and Titus
Cabin
Doing the washing
An interesting bird many of which seen in the back waters
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